In the Wonderful Land of Oz
by Miss.Meiks
Summary: AU set in a version of OZ influenced by 1920s America and the Prohibition. Elphaba gets tricked into joining forces with the Wizard and his ring of speakeasies when she meets a young performer, Glinda.
1. 1923

**-:-1923-:-**

"Order please! I will have _order_ in my court!"

Elphaba huffed quietly at the scene playing out before her. The judge brought her gavel down repeatedly trying to get the rowdy spectators to calm down. What exactly the strange group of spectators were upset about was beyond Elphaba, she'd tuned out the entire court room a while ago. Her eyes landed back on the judge, her nose curling in distaste.

She thought the judge looked like a fish, like a grouper, or a really obese trout. The judge, for her part, sat up upon her perch wildly beating the table before her, tiny eyes flitting around the courtroom, a vein on her neck popping from the exertion of her yelling. She seemed short, even sitting, and her hair was done up in a preposterously high up-do as if to compensate. The name plate sitting on the desk clattered in time to the gavel's beats, it read 'Judge Morrible'. Elphaba rolled her eyes before looking away; the judge's name was as horrible as her appearance.

The green girl's eyes floated around the room a bit before coming to land on her lawyer. He was a nice enough looking middle aged man, his hair just barely more salt than pepper. He stood at the end of the table she was sitting at, arms folded behind his back. He looked awfully proud, which only made Elphaba assume he'd started the ruckus in the court. There was a broad grin plastered on his face, which widened briefly when he noticed Elphaba watching him from the corner of his eyes. She snorted dully before turning her attention instead to the table before her and the papers covering it.

For a moment the girl got lost in her own terrible situation again, she'd done so well at keeping it away for the afternoon. But the newspaper clippings and fact sheets spread across the table before her brought it all rushing back in an instant. She cringed at one headline from a clipping that sat on top of the rest blared at her "Wicked Child Suspect in Father's Murder". Wicked, that's what people thought of her, al because of her skin tone. It wasn't her fault, it's not like she came out of the womb consciously deciding that she would be green. She sighed and ran a hand over the article to push it away, half revealing case photographs that were hidden beneath it. With a shudder she put the article back where it was, the headline was better than an image of her father's bloodied corpse.

"It's getting far too late to continue this nonsense," the judge half sighed once the room finally settled, "The court is adjourned. We'll reconvene tomorrow. Now everyone get out of my courthouse!"

The room filled with noise once more as everyone shuffled to their feet and made to leave at the same moment. A police officer ambled up to her to escort her out; she cast a tired glance over her shoulder at her lawyer who was gathering up his papers. She hadn't even bothered to learn his name, did he even have one? The green teen shook her head a bit and half listened to the officer argue with one of his brothers at arms. The good news, it seemed, was that she was too young to be kept overnight in jail. Her eyes stared off in the distance, pretending not to listen while the two officers discussed her fate for the night. Apparently being fifteen and a murder suspect had its perks, at least as much as a murder suspect could expect to get. The girl couldn't help but sigh again as the officer led her off.

-:-:-

Elphaba cozied into the couch as much as it would allow her, pulling her knees up to her chin as she glanced around. In the end it had been decided that while she couldn't stay in jail, they couldn't let her go either. So instead she was to stay the night in the police station's break room. It was nothing fancy, the room was rather bare and the entire wall opposite the couch was windowed so you could see in from the main part of the station. However, Elphaba figured it still beat jail any day; they'd even allowed her to have a book, which now rest right in front of the girl's face atop her knees. Despite the niceties though she couldn't help but notice that no officers had been in to check on her since dinner. After a day in the noisy courthouse though she couldn't say she minded either.

Shortly after midnight though, her solitude was broken. The door opened to reveal a stout older woman who waddled in like she owned the place. Neither the visitor nor Elphaba said anything as the older woman moved around the room closing the blinds over the windowed wall to make it more private. Only once all the blinds had been shut, and the door locked, did the woman look at her at all.

"Miss Elphaba," the aging woman dropped herself unceremoniously into a chair opposite where Elphaba sat jack-knifed on the couch. Elphaba merely nodded in acknowledgement, recognizing the woman the other woman as soon as she was seated as the trout judge from earlier. What was her name again, Morrible?

"I'm here to talk to you about your options," Judge Morrible paused once more, waiting for Elphaba to say something. The green girl gave no audible response though, brown eyes staring calmly at the judge from over the top of the book still resting on her knees. "No much of a talker, are you? No matter, I'm going to give you the option of getting off for this, even if the jury finds you guilty."

Elphaba raised her brows at this, partially shocked but mostly skeptical, "Is that likely?"

"Oh yes, very," Morrible nodded gravely. If she hadn't already decided it before by this point Elphaba mentally noted that she did not like this woman at all. Even if what she'd just said was true, it wasn't kind to tell a fifteen-year-old that she was going to be convicted of murder.

"Still, when all is said and done I make the decisions," the graying lady commented slyly.

"What's the catch?" Elphaba shot back instantly.

"Oh, smart one I see," Morrible's grin widened, Elphaba ignored this comment, her face dead panned, "I'm not entirely sure why he wants you, actually. I think you'll be more trouble than you're worth. I think your skin will make you stick out like a sore thumb. However if you work with us you may be an asset."

Elphaba wrinkled her nose at the back-handed compliment. Even then though, they were still compliments, and the girl couldn't help but feel a little warmed by them. After all, she was so used to just getting straight up insults that even this round-about compliment got to her.

As is sensing thins Morrible continued, "Surely you know about the current state of . . . _establishments _(1)." The judge paused; Elphaba nodded indicating for the other woman to carry on. "My associate works hard to keep these establishments running. He commissions me to pick out the best of the best. And you my dear are the best."

Elphaba scoffed audibly, Morrible shot her a dark look before talking again, "Getting back to your options. I can get you off, and you will go free. You will be trained, and well kept. Every now and again you will be contacted to do something for us, and when you do you will be finely paid. Or you can rot in jail. Your choice really," she finished matter-of-factly.

Silence prevailed once more. Elphaba hid a grimace behind her book, still balanced on her knees in front of her face. She would surely rather be free, even if it was a faux freedom, than in jail. Furthermore she had no trouble at all believing Morrible when she said the chances were high of the green girl being found guilty. People had always thought of her as bad, no thanks to her verdigris, and this whole ordeal simply propelled that sort of thinking. Big brown eyes peered reproachfully at the aging judge.

Setting her face in a false sense of confidence Elphaba reached a hand out to seal the deal. If it were even possible the grin on the trout lady's face widened as her chubby hand met Elphaba's. This fact alone made the green teen uneasy.

"Do I at least get to know who my employer is?" the girl questioned dully, wiping her hand on the couch discretely as Morrible made to leave. The older lady paused in the door frame, glancing over her shoulder.

"You already have," and with that the door closed behind Morrible.

Elphaba swallowed hard at that. This whole arrangement seemed fishy, and she was sure that wasn't just because of the woman who had offered it to her. She could only hope she hadn't made a horrible mistake, although she was sure she had. A horrible mistake and a Horrible Morrible.

-:-:-

"INNOCENT!"

Elphaba's stomach dropped as the jury announced its verdict. Her lawyer smiled triumphantly as the people watching the proceedings were mixed between cheers and groans. She remained where she was as the room slowly emptied. She should have just trusted the system; she'd never in a million years guessed she might have been found innocent. Her eyes met Morrible's for a brief instant before the trout lady smiled and vanished through the door behind her stand.

It was too late. She'd made a mistake betting against the justice of people. She was stuck now, gambled and lost, she was doomed to do whatever this Horrible Morrible and her nameless associate had in store for her. She cursed herself silently for having believed someone she had so disliked. She should have just listened to her gut and then she'd have been a real free woman, instead of what she knew was going to be a false freedom now.

"I'm glad you took our offer."

The voice jerked Elphaba from her downward spiral of thought. Her head spun to the side as she looked at the owner of the voice. Her lawyer was the only one there. She swallowed softly and wrinkled her brows at the thought. Her lawyer just winked at her as he slung his briefcase over his shoulder nonchalantly.

"This was definitely worth hanging around for one last case. Shall we get going? We've got a long road ahead of us."

The green girl sat up a little straighter, all of her attention now on the lawyer. He was wearing a dark green, well pressed suit with a matching hat. He looked professional in every way; she couldn't imagine him being questionable. Then again she couldn't imagine being a suspect in her own father's murder case prior to a few weeks ago, nor could she imagine the jury proclaiming her innocent. She opened her mouth to ask something, and then shut it as if having thought better of it.

"People call me The Wizard," He answered anyways, as if he knew what Elphaba was going to say. "Now let's blow this joint my little apprentice."

His voice was sickeningly sweet as he began to wall down the hall and out of the court room. Now Elphaba was entirely sure she'd made a horrible, horrible mistake. The worst part was that she couldn't even go back because she had a gut feeling that if she ever disobeyed now she'd turn up at the morgue or worse at the bottom of some lake. With a shallow sigh she stood and followed the green suited man through to doorway and into her new life.

-:-:-

1 – Establishment was a rather ambiguous term referring to speakeasies, or illegal liquor operations.

**A/N:** So I'll apologize ahead of time for this because each of the chapters are going to have these foot notes. Because I'm a massive dork and using slang from the era pleases me, though I know much of it will be pondersome to others so footnotes are my answer to that. Anyway, all of this is set in an AU with the influences of 1920s America and the prohibition. However for ease the city is still the Emerald City. And. . . yes that's on that for now.


	2. 1932

-:-**1932**-:-

"Another job superbly done Elphaba!"

The addressed grunted in acknowledgement, otherwise ignoring the praise. It had been this way ever since she'd started the job, and somehow the congratulatory words just didn't have the same effect that they once did. Instead the green gangster finished polishing the barrel of her favorite weapon before fitting it back into its case.

"We'll get Nessa down there right away to clean things up," The Wizard continued on mindlessly, not yet having realized Elphaba's distance from the conversation. The girl shuddered slightly. Much to her chagrin the Wizard had reeled in her sister as well. Nessa worked down at the city morgue now, covering up any deaths that could be traced back to the 'Great and Powerful Wizard'. Her long green nose wrinkled in distaste.

"That won't be necessary; I'm very capable of cleaning up my own messes Oscar."

Now it was the wizard's turn to shudder, people didn't address him with his real name anymore, they hadn't for nearly a decade. Still, he overlooked it this time focusing in on a different aspect of his favorite pupil's comment.

"What's the matter bearcat(1) you seem in an awful state," the Wizard drenched his expression with sugar as he stepped up behind Elphaba and laid a hand on her shoulder, "you've been fearfully distant lately, been taking too many jobs? I think you oughta kick back and relax a while. Tell ya what, you take a few months and oversee my new drum(2), we're callin' it the Filibuster(3)."

"That is likewise unnecessary," Elphaba stood, shrugging the Wizard's hand from her shoulder. She didn't need a break and she surely did not want to hang around somewhere the public gathered.

While the man had a fatherly grin on his face he spoke in a tone that was nothing less than serious. "It's not a request."

The green girl glanced over her shoulder ruefully before looking back ahead and picking up her violin case(4). She pulled down her fedora, hiding her eyes further before sighing heavily, "Fine."

-:-:-

It took Elphaba less than a minute to decide she was thoroughly going to detest the next few months of her life. Well, more than she already detested it anyways. The room was so filled with smoke that even though she herself held no cigarette, she seemed to be exhaling clouds. She couldn't say the place itself was bad looking though. In fact had it not been filled with people, smoke, and noise she might actually have liked it. Since it was though, it's comfortable looking couches and innumerable tables did nothing for the woman. She huffed lowly and headed towards the bar. She was doomed to never get there however because she'd barely taken three steps in that direction before an irritatingly familiar voice called her name.

"Elphaba!"

The woman groaned quietly trying to ignore the man who was calling her. He called her two more times before she felt a hand grab her elbow, "Elphaba, babe! Never figured I'd see you around here, how're ya doin'?"

Brows flattened out above brown eyes as Elphaba grudgingly turned around to look at the man pestering her, "Ducky(5)."

She couldn't help but notice the man's friendly smile broaden, despite the fact that her response had been dripping in sarcasm. She frowned a bit at his enthusiasm, tuning out his words as his mouth moved animatedly. Under normal circumstances, she might have considered this man handsome, he was about her age, finely tanned skin, dark hair, and tall like she was. However she has consciously made a mental note of nearly all the Gale Force members and marked them collectively as undesirable.

The Gale Force was composed of lord only knew how many youngsters around the town, they were the lowest and most numerous division of the Wizard's great empire. They did most of the dirty work, small jobs, smuggling, and the like. They were the type of people who willingly joined this vicious circle of crime for the money, or in hopes of rising through the ranks and gaining power. Elphaba scoffed at the idea of it, most of the GFs wound up dead or in jail, it was no secret to her that the Wizard didn't care about their fates.

"Elphaba are you even listening?" the man's brows creased as he asked, her scoff having alerted him to the fact that she was indeed _not_ listening.

"Yes of course. . ." Elphaba faltered at the end, having forgotten the more than friendly GF's name.

"Fiyero. My name is Fiyero. And no you weren't, don't lie. Come on Elphaba surely you're smarter than that," Elphaba snorted at his commented, which only caused him to smile again, "Oh you think you're so great, the Wizard's number one assassin, huh? I'm gonna be standing up there with you someday."

This caused Elphaba to make another snorting sound, rolling her eyes at his confidence. At this point she realized he was rambling again, something about how he was the most popular Gale Forcer and that she should at least remember his name. She nodded absent mindedly, her eye lazily following where his arm was pointing now at a stage.

"Anyway as I was sayin' the shows about to start, me an' the rest of the boys have seats up front so come sit with us."

Before the green woman had the chance to refuse the offer she found herself being forcefully pulled along behind the guy. Within moments she was being seated at a small table right in front of the stage. Well, she was less seated at the table, than in the general vicinity she noted. The table itself was tiny, and littered with old cigarettes and empty glasses, this was marginally more explainable given the fact that there appeared to be, four other people aside from her and Fiyero sitting around it.

"Elphaba, you remember these guys of course," Fiyero said, knowing full well she wouldn't know their names if she hadn't remembered his. He pointed to a different person at the table as he spoke next, "Tibbett, Crope, Boq, and Avaric. And of course all of you know who this is."

She was greeted by a chorus of hellos and nicknames and other cheery comments. She nodded curtly from where she was seated, still not sure why she was there. It was both rewarding and regretful being where she was in life. On one hand she was famous among her peers, which was a grand change from her childhood when she'd always been seen as wicked. However at the same time she was on the wrong side of the law to really be considered a hero.

The five men at the table chattered amiably, only occasionally addressing Elphaba. Each time she was brought into the conversation she raised her head a bit as if to show she was listening, at one point she became aware that she'd had a drink ordered for her and drank mindlessly.

"I hear the performer tonight is quite the skirt(6)," The shortest of the men, Boq, started conversationally.

"Yeah, s'right. I hear she's got the best lookin' gams(7) anyone ever set eyes on!" Avaric shot back instantly before looking over his shoulder at a worker and raising his glass, "Oi, let's get another jorum ah skee(8) over here!"

The rest lingered on this subject until the lights dimmed some to indicate the show was about to begin. The entire joint hushed as the pianist began introducing acts. There were three small time acts before the dancer the other five had been gossiping about was to appear. As the show moved on Elphaba chewed the inside of her cheek wondering dully why she was even here, she dismissed the thought though as she sipped at her glass. Free liquor was good enough a reason for her to hang around, even if she wasn't particularly known for her drinking habits.

Wild roars from the crowd brought her back to reality, apparently the girl everyone had been chatting about was about to come out. The music started and the curtain rose. In the middle of the stage was a single woman with a huge feather fan blocking her face, slowly the fan clicked shut and she lowered it. She began performing, her voice alone making her better than anyone else that had showcased this evening. The entire room seemed to scoot forward, especially the men who all stared unblinkingly at the stage.

The music plowed on and the singer danced across the stage. Even Elphaba had to admit that at least some of the rumors she'd overheard were true, this girl certainly did have some nice legs. Her face flushed a bit at her thoughts so she quickly moved her eyes up from the dancer's well toned legs to her face. She was the definition of a flapper(9), short skirt shorter hair. Blonde hair to be precise, neatly kept in a short crimped bob, adorned with a head band that held a large feather on it matching her fan which was now being waved around as part of her act.

Throughout the duration of the act Elphaba couldn't help but notice that when the rest of the crowd had scooted forward, she'd also been moved forward. The toe of her boot scraped along the edge of the stage dully as she tried to return to where she'd been; however, the mass of people behind her impeded her movement. With a low growl the green girl returned her attention to the stage just in time to catch the finale.

Which, she had to admit, was rather less spectacular than she would have guessed. As the music wrapped up the dancer went about finishing her performance, however she as she twirled around her heel missed the stage. It hooked right over the edge of the stage into nothingness and caused her to completely loose her footing, sending her tumbling off the stage. The only thing that made this more alarming to Elphaba was the new occupant in her lap.

She had just enough time to pull the hand that was holding her drink out of the way as the little blonde landed roughly in her lap, her second arm wrapping instinctively around the fallen girl to keep them both from hitting the floor. The singer laughed in a bubbly cheer, causing the feather on her head to bounce around. Elphaba spluttered as the feather tickled her face, the noise causing the singer to look up at her cushion.

"What's doin' daddy(10)?" The girl smiled broadly, clearly intoxicated. Elphaba wrinkled her nose, when she'd been on stage you never would have realized the blonde had been drunk. Her thoughts didn't have much time to linger though as every guy within a ten foot radius instantly surrounded the both of them to make sure the dancer was alright. Elphaba ignored them and their comments of false concern as best she could.

"I most certainly am not your daddy," the green woman scoffed indignantly, "Now if you're fine and well kindly remove yourself from my lap."

"Awe, no need to cast a kitten(11)," the blonde huffed quietly, making no move to stand. The crowd had settled for the most part, except for the five men sharing a table with Elphaba.

"What a chassis(12)!" Avaric half whispered, under the impression that neither of the girls could hear him, "Baby forget this chunk a lead(13)," he nodded at Elphaba indiscreetly, "What d'ya say we blow this joint and head somewhere quiet like?"

The blonde smiled widely, seeming like she was going to accept the offer. For some reason this made Elphaba nauseous, she couldn't decide whether it was just the liquor or because none of them even knew the girl's name and already they were trying to sleep with her. Probably gonna go with the liquor idea.

"Sorry fella, the bank's closed(14)," the blonde said cheerily, still not having moved from Elphaba's lap.

Fiyero laughed heartily as Avaric's face fell. He slapped his friend on the shoulder good-naturedly, "Better luck next time pal!" He paused and looked at the girl now, everyone at the table seeming to ignore the fact she was sitting in Elphaba's lap, "Say what's yer name kid?"

"I'm not a kid," now it was the blondes turn to be indignant, "And it's Glinda. Hey!" Crope jumped at the sudden yell, looking up from what he was doing, Tibbett snickered lightly at the action. Glinda held out a hand palm up and waggled her fingers. "Butt me(15)."

With a sigh of relief Crope grinned lopsidedly and handed the girl a cigarette, which Boq wasted no time in lighting for her. The entire group continued conversing and laughing and being quiet friendly. Elphaba rolled her eyes at the entire situation, sipping from her glass darkly. They sat there for at least another good forty minutes before any of them even seemed to remember Elphaba was there beneath Glinda and another chair was brought to the table.

Elphaba had a creeping feeling that if this night was any indicator, she would really dislike the next few months of her life a lot more than she had originally suspected.

-:-:-

1 – bearcat: a hot-blooded girl  
2 – drum: a speakeasy  
3 – Filibuster: I actually used this term as the speakeasy's name because it literally means ''pirate" or "freebooter", although it goes particularly well even if you took it for its political connotation because the Wizard seems like a guy that would do that.  
4 – violin case: Elphaba has a modified violin case that she stores her gun in. It hasn't been stated yet but she uses a Tommy Gun to do her dirty work.  
5 – ducky: very good  
6 – skirt: used to describe a very attractive woman.  
7 – gams: legs.  
8 – jorum of skee: a shot of hard liquor.  
9 – flapper: a girl who broke the laws on convention. They wore short skirts (just below the knee was considered short then), and bobbed their hair. They were also known for smoking, drinking, and treating sex casually.  
10 – daddy: a young woman's boyfriend or lover. Elphaba took such offense to this because she took it as meaning she looked like a man.  
11 – cast a kitten: to have a fit.  
12 – chassis: the female body.  
13 – chunk of lead: an unattractive female.  
14 – bank's closed: no kissing or making out.  
15 – Butt me: Give me a cigarette.

**A/N:** Okay so, since I completely forgot to do this in the first chapter it's time for me to play catch up with myself a bit.

Firstly, a great big thank you to ReallyUhSharp. She's the requestee / initial reader / muse for all of this. If that makes any sense at all. Probably not but I'm sticking with it. Anyways she's a way better writer than me and you should totally read her amazing stories! Do it, yeah? (If you're too lazy to be bothered with finding her page normally, you can find her in the 'favorite authors' section of my page).

Secondly, DISCLAIMER: I don't own Wicked. Likewise I do not own Elphaba or Glinda or anyone else that has been mentioned in this story. I'm not doing this for profit, unless of course you consider the gratitude of knowing people are reading and enjoying my utter nonsense a profit. In which case I would be doing it for a profit. However, since you probably don't, still not getting any profit. So yeah, I'd appreciate it if I didn't get sued or what-have-you. Right, that's all!

_EDIT:_ Oi, another big thanks for just . another . elphie for pointing out that my footnotes were just numbers. It's total bogus that my superscripting didn't work, even when I put in the html codes for it. Kinda ticks me off. Anyhow, now at least they're in parenthesis to separate them. Thanks again!


	3. November

-:-**November**-:-

As the night wore on Elphaba became increasingly aware of two things. One was that everyone apart from herself continued drinking. Coincidentally this led to the whole lot of them becoming incredibly drunk. Two was that as they became more drunk Fiyero, Avaric, and Boq all seemed to gravitate toward Glinda. The only reason this particularly agitated Elphaba was because the blonde was seated next to her and so Elphaba had unwittingly become the only thing keeping Fiyero and Avaric from sitting directly next to the singer. As such, every now and again one or the other of them would lean dangerously into Elphaba's space, and each time they did so it annoyed her exponentially more.

Directly after one of these incidences Elphaba reached down with the thought of scooting her chair further away from the bothersome duo. As she attempted to do so however, it came to her attention that it would be impossible. At some point during the evening Glinda had moved her chair so that the edge of her chair nearly molded with Elphaba's, making one large chair instead of two separate ones. The green girl's first impulse was to reprimand the blonde for doing this, until she was distracted by Boq on Glinda's other side and more specifically, the look he was giving the blonde. With a dull groan Elphaba folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair, forgiving the blonde silently for her closeness. It was going to be a long night.

-:-:-

At one point Elphaba considered just getting up and leaving. Her mind was changed for her mid-thought when Boq leaned a little too close to Glinda, which in turn caused the blonde to lean away, rubbing shoulders with Elphaba in the process. Brown eyes flitted over to the short man and their owner growled lowly. The shorter man instantly reclined in his seat again as if nothing had happened. After this the boys all seemed to behave for a short while, knowing better than to pester Elphaba. They'd heard stories of what happened when you did that.

The conversation drawled on casually for a while longer, and Elphaba continued to ignore it and enjoy her personal space. (Excepting the space immediately to her right where Glinda had occupied in her attempt to keep a respectable distance between herself and Boq). Instead of taking part in the conversation the green girl's attention wafted over to Crope and Tibbett, who both thankfully had remained on their side of the table. Elphaba made a mental note to thank them for that fact later.

She also made a mental note that it was good they had stayed over there now what with their mutual arm waving and general movement. They appeared to be telling some sort of story about how they'd distracted an opposing group of thugs earlier in the week. She'd joined the story too late to really understand, not that she cared to anyway.

The entire table burst into laughter as the pair finished their story. A fact that was perfectly fine with Elphaba, until she felt a hand on her knee which sent a shiver running up her spin. It seemed that Glinda, in her joviality, and meant to slap her own knee in amusement. The blonde hadn't yet realized, in her intoxicated state of mind, that she'd missed and was now resting her hand on her neighbor's knee instead.

Elphaba shot up and grunted something that could have passed as a farewell. The chair, which should have been thrown back by the force of the tall woman suddenly standing, remained where it was, latched together with Glinda's chair. This made it nearly impossible for Elphaba to leave without getting someone else to move first. While she busied herself trying to swat Fiyero away so she could depart, Glinda stood as well.

"Well I hate t'be Mrs. Grundy(1), but I better get goin' too," the blonde commented amid a slur a giggles.

Fiyero stood instantly, as did Avaric and Boq. Elphaba cringed as they all hollered in triplicate something about escorting her home.

With a smile as wide as her face Glinda informed all of them that they could all take her home. This sent the three of them arguing about whom should be allowed the privilege, as clearly only one person could possibly walk the blonde home. Elphaba scowled at the four of them before casting a glance around the room to gauge how many people were staring at them yet. It was only then that she realized how late it must actually have been as only the bartender, themselves, and one or two other stragglers still remained.

While Elphaba distracted herself with plotting out her easiest route of escape, Glinda grinned as the argument quickly became more heated. She loved it when people fought over her. Still though, she took a step back to avoid what was threatening to become a brawl. As she did so however she tripped over the foot of her chair and stumbled backwards. For the second time that night Elphaba found herself drawn from her thoughts by the blonde falling on her, again instinctively raising her arms to steady the singer.

"ENOUGH!" the words echoed around the empty room, the green girl obviously enraged by this point.

The group hushed instantly. In fact the boys all seemed to shrink a little at the pure anger rushing off Elphaba in waves. Glinda found this greatly amusing and giggled under her breath. Elphaba rolled her eyes and set the blonde back on her feet. The men seemed to give a silent sigh of relief, both shocked and pleased that the blonde's laughter had calmed the green girl. Crope was the first to speak after that, and he was the first to speak any sense.

"Miss Elphaba, why don't you take Glinda home?"

Tibbett snorted cheerily at this, raising a hand to his mouth to hold back all out laughter before adding, "Yes, because clearly you're the only one who can be trusted to get her home safely and not take her off to get some nookie(2)!"

The other three men seemed to take offense at this and all began talking at once in their defense. Glinda merely giggled again, swaying on her feet before leaning lazily up against Elphaba. The green woman seethed silently and glared up at the ceiling, cursing bother this situation and herself for getting caught up in it. A tiny hiccup brought her attention back down to the woman on her shoulder however.

Elphaba couldn't help but soften at the face she was presented with. It was clear that the copious amounts of alcohol she'd consumed were now catching up with the small woman. In fact the previously perky blonde now appeared to be nearly asleep. Given her chosen resting spot Elphaba wasn't quite sure how though. Not only were they standing but the green girl more than acknowledged that her shoulders were rather boney. She couldn't picture an existence where standing with a boney shoulder as your pillow could be comfortable, so instead she settled on blaming the alcohol. With no further words spoken the taller woman looped an arm under Glinda's and led her away from what had now become a mock trial with Crope and Tibbett playing judge.

-:-:-

"Pos-i-lute-ly. . ."

Elphaba wrinkled her nose. The further they'd gotten from the Filibuster the heavier Glinda seemed to have gotten. This was partially due to her walking pattern becoming more erratic, often tripping up Elphaba in the process and partially because she was diving deeper into the realm of sleep walking and dead weight.

"Posilutely what?" the green girl grumbled as, for the umpteenth time that night, she tried to get the blond to walk straight.

"'M pos-i-lute-ly splifficated(3). . ." the blonde drawled, barely enunciating enough for Elphaba to gather what was being said.

"Yes," the taller of the two grunted, trying to correct the blonde's path again, "You don't have to inform me of your state of ossification(4)."

The blonde said no more but giggled lightly as Elphaba gave up trying to get her to walk and instead hefted the smaller woman over her shoulder. The girl remained quiet for a good block like this, watching the ground sway as she was carried. This seemed to please both of them for a time, but by the time two blocks went by Glinda groaned ever so slightly.

"Elphie. . . 'm gonna upchuck. . ."

Elphaba tensed immediately, pulling the blonde from her shoulder and trying to get her to stand. The threat of vomit down her back caused her enough panic to even overlook the shortening of her name. "Oh no you don't, come on there's a rubbish bin right here. Go on!"

Glinda swayed a bit and nearly fell to her knees before the taller woman came to her aid and righted her again. The blonde pouted drunkenly and half-heartedly raised a hand to hit Elphaba's shoulder with. She only managed to raise her hand about half way and instead clasped her hand around the taller woman's elbow instead, leaning heavily into it as if her hand weighed a ton. "Elphie. . . carry me normal. . ."

The green girl stood for a second with a brow raised. Did Glinda just call her 'Elphie'? She frowned at the realization. She didn't want to get nick names with people, she didn't like people. She especially didn't want to get a nick name that was so. . . perky. The blonde's eyes fluttered closed for a moment and she swayed dangerously before Elphaba picked her up and cradled the blonde in her arms.

At this point Elphaba realized two more things. That Glinda was much harder to carry when she was asleep because of the dead weight. Also, that Glinda was asleep and Elphaba had no idea where she was going. A looked a panic swept across her face as she shook one arm to try to get Glinda to wake up.

"Hey. Hey! Don't fall sleep where am I going?"

The blonde did not reply, unless you considered a small burping noise a reply. Elphaba ceased her movement immediately, not wanted to stir up the blonde's stomach contents again. She huffed, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach before moving off into the night once more.

"Fine you can stay at my place. Just this once. But you're sleeping on the couch!"

-:-:-

1 – Mrs. Grundy: A kill-joy.  
2 – nookie: sex  
3 – splifficated: drunk  
4 – ossified: drunk

**A/N**: So sorry it took me so long to post this up. As a thank you for your patience I'm gonna upload two chapters in a row. Now granted these two aren't all that great but 'January' is going to be good. And exceedingly _long_. So look forward to that I suppose?


	4. December

-:-**December**-:-

In the month since her initial visit to the Filibuster, Elphaba's lot in life had drastically changed. Where she was once able to lurk about in the shadows and avoid public eye, she was suddenly thrust into a management position where she had to deal with all sorts of people. These people ranged from the customers to her staff, to the drunks who needed occasionally to be ejected from the bar. The green girl found none of these people particularly acceptable, nor the fact that so many of them now looked at her like something of a hero for running such a fine place.

The green girl but preferred the hours before the establishment opened every night. She was, for the most part, by herself making sure everything was in order. It was about the only time of day when she wasn't constantly bombarded by people. Currently, she stood behind the bar polishing glasses that were already clean enough to catch your reflection in. Mindless tasks like these gave Elphaba the chance to day-dream about what she'd prefer to be doing, while still giving off the appearance of keeping busy. Every once and again her thoughts would be side-tracked by the noise of another employee coming in, or someone backstage shuffling about, but mostly this was her alone time.

"Elphie!"

The aforementioned shuddered as her silence was broken by the much more intrusive sound of a soprano's voice. Her teeth grated momentarily as she placed down the glass she'd been working on and picked up another, dark eyes sliding over to glare at the person who spoke to her, "What're you doing here?"

Glinda huffed and raised a hand to her chest in insult at the comment. "I _work_ here Miss Elphaba, and I'd very much like it if you'd bother to remember that fact. You've been overseeing here for nearly a month now and you still don't know you're staff. Anyhow I'm just checking with the show plans for tonight. . ."

Elphaba nodded dimly, appearing to tune out the other girl, instead she seemed to take interest in watching the stage across from the bar, where nothing was happening. Her hands still polished the glass deftly, every once in a while her head would remind her to nod for the sake of the blonde chattering next to her.

"Miss Elphaba I swear, you're not even listening are you? I can tell when you start day dreaming you know," The blonde chastised the taller woman, popping her head into the view of brown eyes once more. In turn Elphaba blinked back into reality and looked down at the singer.

"Oh I'm sorry, why are you still here?"

"I _still_ work here, ugh you're impossible!" Glinda threw her arms up in the air as she stormed her way back towards the stage.

Elphaba smirked in the blonde's wake. The girl had been hanging around ever since they'd first met. That could be due to the fact that, as Glinda had asserted, she worked here. However that didn't account for following the green girl nearly everywhere else, or how she lingered about even when she was off duty. The green girl had to admit, that even though Glinda still got on her nerves, the little blonde was by far her favorite out of all the people who harassed her on a daily basis.

-:-:-

"Elphie?"

The green girl grunted briefly in response, not raising her head form her current project. She was busy tightening the leg on one of the tables near the stage, the night before a customer had complained that it wobbled so much it had spilled his drink. As much as Elphaba thought that was an over-exaggeration, she didn't want to deal with another drunk man yelling at her anytime soon. Glinda sat in a chair nearby, leaning it dangerously back on two legs as she thought. Her eyes seemed to return from some far off land as they focused on the working girl.

"Do you know what day it is?" The blonde asked simply.

Elphaba looked up for less than a second before looking back down at the joint holding the leg to the table. For some reason no matter what she did the leg still wobbled. With a sigh she took off her jacket and set it on the chair closest to her before rolling up her sleeves and getting back to work, "It's the fourteenth, and I highly recommend that you go purchase a calendar Miss Glinda."

Glinda inhaled sharply, her brows creasing downward at the insult, although she voiced no audible complaint. "Precisely Miss Elphaba, it's the fourteenth. The Fourteenth of December."

Elphaba glanced out of the corner of her eye at the blonde, holding back a snicker at the girl's offense. With a brief shake of her head she went back to the table, wiping the back of one hand across her forehead before removing the leg from the table altogether to get a better look at how it joined to the table. Glinda sighed heavily at the realization that Elphaba was going to ignore her entirely.

"Elphie, it's almost Lurlinemas! For cryin' out loud, _surely_ you knew that!" The blonde half-yelled in exasperation. Elphaba rolled her eyes and went about reconnecting the leg to the table. Glinda crossed her arms across her chest and pouted, "I was just wondering if you had any plans for the place."

The only noise for a few moments was that of the table's screws being tightened. Glinda only allowed the quiet to go on so long because she thought the green girl might honestly be thinking of plans.

"I've got it!"

Glinda sat up expectantly at the words, her face beaming. Elphaba stood up straight from where she'd been knelt over the table and looked over at the blonde proudly. "See?" the green girl continued, raised a hand to tug on the table's leg, "It doesn't wiggle anymore!"

The blonde's entire form seemed to sink, her expression lying flat as blue eyes stared at Elphaba, clearly not amused. With a dejected sigh the blonde stood, straightening her dress, "Well that's just copacetic1 boss."

Elphaba paid no mind to the blonde as she moved off to join her fellow performers behind the stage. It was nearly opening time and everyone needed to be getting ready for the crowds. With another satisfactory nod, the green girl righted the table and placed some chairs around it before going about her other duties.

-:-:-

Elphaba's jaw nearly hit the floor when she walked into the Filibuster on December Twenty-fourth. She was sure when she'd left the night before everything was in order. Now as she walked in the entire place had been dolled-up. Garlands were wrapped around the support columns, and in one corner stood a huge tree with lights and ornaments and everything around it. There were so much holiday themed decorations Elphaba was having a hard time taking them all in. There was a small giggle from her right almost immediately above her. The green girl's neck cracked in protest to having been redirected so quickly to look at the source of the laughter.

"Oh dear, I had hoped to finish before you arrived," the now all too familiar blonde giggled again, raising a hand to her face to hide her pleasure. Elphaba quickly erased the shocked look from her face before putting her hands on her hips.

"Glinda I thought I said I wasn't putting up decorations for this nonsense."

"Au contraire, you simply ignored me when I asked what you were doing. So instead I thought I'd spruce the place up myself," Glinda shot back merrily before going back to her decorating.

She was fiddling with someone near the roof, which explained why she was on a small ladder and now a good foot or so taller than Elphaba. Well, it was really more like a stepping stool, the ladder only had three steps and Glinda was now standing on the top rung, even then she was standing on her tip toes to reach the ceiling. Before Elphaba could see what she was doing the blonde cheered in delight, obviously having accomplished whatever she was doing.

In the process of this she wobbled precariously upon the step stool, Elphaba raised a hand to steady her, which Glinda grabbed gratefully and balanced herself. With a broad smile Glinda looked up at the ceiling then back down to Elphaba with a face of mock surprise. "Why Miss Elphaba, you're underneath the mistletoe!"

Elphaba's attention shot up to look at the sprig hanging above her head now, "S'nothing but a load of rubbish. Do you know that mistletoe actually means 'dung on a twig'? It's a stupid holiday and a stupid myth."

At this point Glinda's knuckles found a place on Elphaba's head. "Oh Elphie don't be such a party pooper. I bet you've just never been kissed under it before, well let me tell you the guests will appreciate the holiday spirit."

Elphaba grumbled something under her breath and looked away. Glinda smiled merrily squeezing her hold on Elphaba's hand as she shuffled her feet on the stool, her other hand reaching to catch a pointy chin and redirect its area of focus. "Ooo, did I hit a sore spot?" the blonde cooed playfully, addressing Elphaba as one might address a child.

The green girl huffed and went to walk off but Glinda tugged her back, mostly because she didn't want to be dragged off the stool. Elphaba looked up just in time to have Glinda's lips meet with her cheek. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, green cheeks now a shade darker from the strange transaction, their owner frozen in shock. Glinda stood up straight once more, having to have bent in half to reach Elphaba's face from where she stood perched on the stool still. A broad grin was apparent on the blonde's face, blue eyes twinkling, "There, all better?"

"HOT DAMN," a voice echoed from across the room, both of the girls' attention flying over the table to see who had said something. There stood Avaric, who was joined shortly by Fiyero. At the boy's sudden appearance Elphaba yanked her hand out of the blonde's and headed to the bar, muttering something about getting to work.

Glinda wobbled where she stood for a moment before making her way down the stool and leaping in bounds over to the duo, "Hey daddy, what's shakin'!" The blonde latched her arms around Fiyero's neck, who swung the small woman around in a circle cheerily. Their conversation was shortly lost on the green girl who had begun organizing things that were already organized behind the bar.

Only the blonde's words brought reality crashing back after the embarrassing moment seconds before. Elphaba's face was still flushed as she busied herself with menial tasks, glad for the distance between her and the rest of them. Brown eyes traveled up to the singer who still had her arms around Fiyero's neck as she planted a kiss on his lips. Sometime immediately after they'd first met Glinda and Fiyero had started dating, apparently they thought they were perfect for each other or something. Elphaba had almost forgotten since the blonde always seemed to be around her. The green girl scoffed silently at the pair, glad when all three of them disappeared behind the stage.

When they'd gone though Elphaba sighed, raising a hand to her cheek. The blonde had only done that because of the mistletoe right? It had to have been, because that singer didn't need an excuse to kiss anyone. That was apparent. Brown eyes trailed up to where the trio had vanished once more at the sounds of light-hearted giggles behind the stage. In that instant, any signs of softness on those green features vanished instantly. Dark brows creased angrily and her face set into its typical scowl, an expression that had been seen less and less often in the past month.

The green girl scrubbed the bar with more ferocity then was necessary as she distracted herself from her thoughts. She couldn't possibly be thinking what she thought she was thinking. That would be completely and entirely taboo, as if she didn't already get enough of a bad rep with people. Well alright, so people rarely thought of her as bad anymore, unless they were the police. But still they only looked over her verdigris because she was providing them all alcohol. Elphaba was only entertaining the thoughts she was because there was only one person that had bothered to tear down the wall she'd placed between herself and the rest of the world. And that person was currently off with her boyfriend and his best friend. Elphaba tried to bite back her intense dislike for this situation and instead tried to convince herself that she hated everyone again.

Glinda was right though, the customers did love the decorations. Especially the mistletoe, which saw plenty of couples underneath it throughout the night. Some less drunk than others.

-:-:-

1 – copacetic: excellent, or all in order 

**A/N**: Only one footnote this time. Anyhow, this is, mainly just an excuse for me to write a Christmas sort of deal (as I never have before). Still it helps put the story in motion. Hoorah!


	5. January

**-:- January-:-**

"Elphie, whatever happened to that fan I was using the night we met?"

The addressed paused in her work to glance up at the blond across from her. Little had occurred between Lurlinemas and now, nearly a month had passed and the year was now 1933. New years had brought in celebrators and countless kisses once the countdown had ended. Elphaba had just barely contained the urge to slap everyone within arm's reach at the display.

A green head shook slightly as she returned her attention to the counting machine on the table before her. Being a manager and dealing with people had seemed like the worst thing she could think of when she was forced to take the job. Her perception of the job had only worsened when she realized she was in charge of all the number work involved as well. She preferred the numbers over people sure, but it sure was tedious.

She sighed as her fingers tapped over the buttons on the machine, "I haven't the slightest. Most likely some rummy(1) got 'is hands off it when you fell off the stage and took it as a souvenir. Why?"

Glinda giggled at the thought, rocking in her chair, "I suppose you're probably right. I was just thinking about doing that act again is all, I wonder if we've any spares?"

"The marvelous Glinda is recycling acts?" Elphaba chortled quietly, almost to herself, never once looking up from her work, "Are you hoping to fall in some other poor manager's lap?"

"Elphie you mean thing you, it wasn't on purpose," the blonde laughed good-naturedly at this.

"Mmmhmm," the green girl paused again in her typing, looking up once more. "Say, when did you even start calling me that?" her tone was alarmingly serious, and her expression matched her tone.

Glinda started a bit, her laughter humming into silence as her expression worried, "I don't know. A week after I met you? Why, do you mind?"

Elphaba rolled a pencil between her fingers, her eyebrows wrinkling in thought, "I suppose, that as long as it's only you saying it, I don't mind."

A semi-awkward silence took hold of the room then. Neither girl could tell you why it had settled, possibly because Elphaba had not immediately gone back to typing down figures on the machine. The more likely cause, however, was because brown eyes had met with blue over that last sentence, and neither party had thought to look away yet.

The predicament didn't last long though. A door somewhere behind the stage slammed loudly, jarring both out of the silence. Glinda stood abruptly, just managing to catch her chair before it toppled over backwards as Elphaba cleared her throat heavily and looked down at the papers before her.

"I'm gonna go-"

"Well I'd better-"

Both girls started talking at once, and stopping in unison to allow the other to speak. The silence resumed for only a moment before the greener of the pair nodded and waved her hand indicating for the other to continue.

"I am . . . gonna go check the back. For another fan," casting a sidelong glance at Elphaba as she tucked her chair back underneath the table

"Right. I'd better be getting back to work as well," Elphaba added, shifting her papers, her eyes trained on them as if the figures there were the code to life itself.

With a curt nod Glinda moved away. As the pink clad flapper vanished around the corner, Elphaba released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Leaning back in her chair, brown eyes stared blankly at her papers, her former urgency when regarding them having all but disappeared. She sat like this for a moment before raising a hand to her chest softly.

_What is this feeling?_

-:-:-

"They did _what_?" Fiyero half bellowed in disbelief.

"You heard me, right underneath the mistletoe!" Avaric replied, a huge smile plastered on his face as he slammed a hand amiably on his friend's shoulder.

Fiyero, in turn, stood slack-jawed at the news. He eyes his friend so see whether or not to trust these words before straightening up, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"My mind misplaced with what with it bein' New Years and all. You might be tied down with your beauty, but I spent that holiday chasin' the finest skirts anyone's ever seen. Apart from possibly the skirt you own," Avaric winked suggestively. His cheery mood was evaporating at an amazing pace though because of his friend's demeanor.

"You should have told me sooner," The tanner man commented, folding his arms across his chest. He was really quite intimidating when he painted himself with the serious look.

Avaric's face twisted at this, he thought that the other Gale Forcer would have shared in his enthusiasm. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd take it so hard."

"No. I mean you should have told me sooner," Fiyero's expression broke here a grin spreading over his face as he flung an arm around his friend's shoulders, "so that we could come up with a plan to get them to do it again!"

-:-:-

"Elphaba!"

The raven haired manager groaned and dropped her hands to the bar in front of her, the empty glass in one of her hands making a dull 'thunking' noise as it connected with the bar-top, "What is it Mr. Fiyero?"

Half a week had passed since Elphaba had chased the GF and his friend from her back halls for being too loud. Ever since then she couldn't help but notice that the pair of them would snicker under their breaths when they saw her, or when they saw Glinda for that matter. On the whole though they'd been avoiding the semi-retired mobster. She preferred when they kept their distance, but their laughter was getting on her nerves.

Fiyero smiled, straightening his tie that had become skewed as he ran up to the green manager. "There's something in the storeroom!"

Elphaba's frown deepened as she saw he was clearly serious, "Then do something about it."

"Are you kidding? I don't work here!" the man seemed appalled at the thought.

"Oh right," Elphaba rubbed her temples exhaustedly, "I forgot since you're _always_ _here_. Remind me why you're here before hours now?"

Fiyero shrugged, "The back door was open."

Suppressing the urge to lecture the GF about just walking in she threw the towel she'd been using to clean glasses on the counter and moved to follow the man. In doing so, she missed the pleased smile that graced his face.

-:-:-

"I really don't see anything up here Avaric," the blonde huffed, standing on her tippy toes in her attempt to see the top shelf.

"Nah, you've been looking for one o' them feathered fans right? I definitely saw one up there," Avaric assured her from where he stood by the door, "Maybe you should try standing on something."

Glinda scoffed, glancing over at the useless Gale Forcer as she pulled a stack of boxes toward the walls, "Such a gentleman Avie! Honestly I can't figure out why you're single." The girl rolled her eyes as she scrambled up the rather precarious ladder of boxes she'd created.

"Cause I like it that way," the man half growled, catching a glimpse of his partner in crime coming around the corner.

-:-:-

"Come _on_ Elphaba," Fiyero urged, winking discreetly at his friend by the storeroom's door.

"What exactly do you think is in there that you're too much of a piker(2) to go in yourself?" The green woman sighed.

"I dunno but it's going 'boom ba boom boom. . . BOOM'." The tanned man paused, and raised his hands to accentuate the final boom. His eyes widening for a brief second before he shook the expression away and continued to lead the manager down the hall.

Elphaba rolled her eyes once more at the display and peered into the room, ignoring Avaric entirely. Instantly she was greeted by the view of Glinda all but climbing the back wall to reach to the top shelf. The woman's face deadpanned, not even bothering to look at the two men, "Really? It's just Glinda you idiots."

Fiyero and Avaric peered over either of the tall woman's shoulders. "Oh, so it is," the tanner man chirped merrily.

Before Elphaba could even consider whether she should go help the blonde or just leave, she felt a mighty shove on her back. She stumbled forward as the door slammed shut, making an awful noise. The noise startled not only the unbalanced manager, but also the blonde who jumped in alarm.

This was a very poor idea as the sudden movement caused her already precarious perch to topple. The boxes slid out from under her feet, pitching the blonde backwards. Elphaba looked up just in time to see a flurry of limbs and pink fabric coming towards her.

If there hadn't been any noise coming from the room before there certainly was now. The two men outside could hardly contain their joy at their brilliance. Now that they had the two locked in a room together they were going to peer through a small whole they'd drilled through the thin wall to see what would happen.

Meanwhile back inside the storeroom, dust from the avalanche of boxes was beginning to settle. The room's occupants had disappeared beneath a slew of old costumes that had fallen from their designated box. After a short moment, the pile of garments heaved before giving way to a head of short, disheveled curls whose owner gasped for fresh air. Glinda glanced around the room distractedly as she tried to figure out what was going on, looking rather like a meerkat checking for predators, before shrugging her arms free of the debris.

At her movement a pile of clothes to her left growled, the blonde herself seeming to shift upwards a bit as the noise was issued. Snickering lightly to herself her attention lingered thoughtfully over the displaced clothes before reaching out a hand and gracefully plucking up a silk scarf. As soon as she did so she found a pair of brown eyes glaring back at her.

This elicited more giggles from the blonde, and another growl from the raven haired girl below her, "Gerroff will ya?"

Glinda coughed softly, holding back further laughter, as she tried to disentangle herself from the pile of old props, outfits, and otherwise useless junk. "A please would be nice."

Elphaba grumbled and rolled her eyes, grimacing as the blonde leaned all of her weight on the green girl's stomach by mistake. Some moments later both girls stood dusting themselves off. Without glancing at the room's other occupant or the mess behind her, Elphaba reached for the door. She was rewarded only by an unpleasant 'click' as she tried, and failed, to open it.

After a pause during which the green girl hoped she'd just been imagining that click, she tried again with the same result. Her jaw set in a dangerous angle the raven haired woman jiggled the handle and even threw her shoulder against the door for good measure, silently hoping it had just stuck. Eventually Elphaba couldn't ignore what she knew had been true from that first click. Exasperated the manager released the door handle and instead slammed the butt of her fist against the door.

Glinda watched quietly as the rooms other occupant slowly leaned forward until she heard a dull sound that indicated a green forehead now rested against the door. The room remained quiet like this for a good couple of minutes, the blonde blinking wordlessly at the fit she'd just witnessed. It was so quiet in these moments that the performer would later swear she had heard the manager's brain clicking with thought. So to distract herself Glinda instead turned to rummage through the heap of junk behind her.

Just as she started this Elphaba stood bolt upright once more, turning her head abruptly to glance down the wall next to the rooms only exit. Muttering something about death under her breath the manager rested both hands on the wall, running them up and down, her face impossibly close to the poster covered dry wall. The blonde watched, her brows furrowing in question although she said nothing.

The green girl caught the look out of the corner of her eye and sighed before scooting down the wall a bit to continue her scrutiny of the wall, "Fiyero and Avaric are up to something. They led me here and I'm assuming they did the same to you. Furthermore they've locked us both in here. So either they must be planning some sort of surprise, which I find unlikely anyways and unless you've got a birthday you haven't been telling me about then I can't imagine what said surprise would be anyways.

"Or," She paused after this, scratching at the corner of one of the many old show posters that covered the walls, "They've locked us in here under the delusion that we're going to 'have a moment' or something. If it's as bad as I think it is, then they're likely drilled a hole somewhere in my dry wall to watch."

-:-:-

"She figured that out rather quickly," Avaric whispered in a deflated sort of way.

From where he stood with an ear plastered to the door her could easily hear the girls within. Fiyero took his eye from the tiny hole they had further down the wall to peer at his friend for a moment. They were taking turns viewing; after all they could put to many holes in the wall that would have been suspicious. The posters on the inside of the room easily hid the peek hole; especially since the boys has craftily place it directly over one of the poster's eyes.

Fiyero chuckled lightly before turning to look through the pepper again with a shrug, "She's a smart cookie."

The pair fell silent once more, concentrating with all they had on what might be going on within the room. They wore symmetrical frowns at the general lack of action. Even so the two Gale Forcers were so focus on their task that they hadn't heard the little footsteps behind them. When a voice asked them what they were doing both of them jumped and spun around, trying to look natural. Fiyero's face softened though when he saw who it was.

"Hey there Boq, arrive a little early today?"

The munchkin snorted at the statement, "It might shock you to be reminded that I actually work here, unlike you. Now will you please answer the question?"

Boq waited semi-patiently for an actual answer, raising a hand to flick non-existent dust from his shoulder. Fiyero had almost forgotten Boq had been the rum runner for the Filibuster for a while now, since the munchkin almost always joined him and the rest of the Gale Forcers for drinks in the evening. The tanned man figured that most of the running must be done during the day, or at least what part of it that Boq handled.

"Why don't you just toddle off now little one, this game is for big boys only," Avaric sneered harshly, cutting into Fiyero's thoughts.

Indignant Boq was about to retaliate when Fiyero stepped forward and moved his hands in such a way to indicate the pair quiet down, "Simmer down now children. Boq can you keep a secret now?"

"You're going to tell him?" Avaric half yelled as Fiyero cast him a dark glance and he reduced his voice to a whisper, "Why don't you just go tell Elphaba then? Or better yet how about the wizard himself?"

Fiyero shared a quick hushed word with Avaric before turning back to Boq and explaining the situation. The taller man could hardly contain himself at the strange color the munchkin's face had adopted. At first he had begun to blush, but at the same time he seemed to pale. It left the most interesting blotchy pattern of red and white on the shorter man's face. Avaric did little to hide his amusement and chortled openly.

"That," the munchkin's voice trailed before he cleared his throat, which remarkably also seems to clear his face a bit, "That's all fine and well but, you realize that Elphaba is going to skin the pair of you when she gets out. You're going to have to let her out eventually."

As if on cue the three of them could hear the manager hollering something about death and murder from within the room. Both Avaric and Fiyero's face blanched at this, they hadn't considered the thought. As it sunk in just how literal any death threat from Elphaba might be Avaric shot down the hall. Fiyero stay just long enough to whisper a hushed warning to Boq.

"You had better not let them out; you'll be killed for association!"

It took less than a second for the remaining two men to run down the hall and vanish out onto the streets. None of them returned for drinks that evening.

-:-:-

"I'm going to kill them! No, first I'm gonna make them clean this mess," Elphaba spun around, having given up on locating the peep hole and waving a hand instead at the emptied boxes and props Glinda was currently wading through. "Yes, they're going to get all this shit picked up. _Then_ I'm going to kill them! As soon as I find a way out of here."

"Ah-hah!" the blonde shrilled, standing up straight. For a brief moment the raven haired woman looked hopeful, thinking that the other girl had found a way out. Glinda turned to face her friend, flicking her wrist as she did so, "Another fan!"

The green girl tossed her hands in the air again, her eyes looking towards the heavens for a brief moment. Glinda merely snickered at the motion, waving the feathered fan. Elphaba, in turn, growled and kicked some sort of tiara near her foot before turning and flopping back down onto a pile of the clothes, making herself comfortable.

"What are you doing?"

Elphaba glanced at the questioning blue eyes that peered out from over the fan, "I'm waiting, what's it look like? They can't possibly keep us in here forever, and I don't see any other way out."

The flapper flicked her wrist once more, collapsing the fan into her hand before looking around the room. "So we're just stuck here?"

There was silence as the other woman simply nodded.

Glinda hmmed quietly to herself, raising her free hand to her chin, "You think they've got us in here to watch us?"

Again silence.

"Then, they probably won't let us out until they see something. . ."

Elphaba ignored this comment, the blonde turned around to see the manager had allowed her head to loll backwards and had closed her eyes, having apparently thought this would be an excellent time to catch up on her sleep. Glinda huffed quietly, stepping over a few discarded garments moving across the room.

When the pile shifted to her immediate left, the green girl half-heartedly opened one eye. At the sight of Glinda standing over her instantly both eyes flew open in their entirety. "What are you doing?"

Glinda smiled a sugar-coated smile before dropping to her knees, now comfortably straddled over the other girl's lap, "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm giving them something to watch."

Swallowing heavily, Elphaba tried to retain her composure. Her voice betrayed her though, coming out quiet and unsteady, "I don't appreciate having my words turned arou-"

She was silenced as Glinda grabbed her shirt front and yanked her up, crashing their lips together. Elphaba wasn't sure if it was the sudden movement or the kiss itself that stole the breath from her lungs, but suddenly everything else seemed to vanish. All her worries, the fact that they were in a storage closet, even the fact that somewhere two dead men were watching them. All that mattered in that moment was Glinda, and that her lips were on the green girl's own, and that those lips were smiling.

Glinda moved back for a moment, still smirking like she had before, "Oh yeah? And I don't appreciate your words while I'm trying to kiss you."

The raven haired woman's breathe hitched, eyes locked with the blue ones that seemed preposterously close to hers. Those blue eyes danced with amusement, both of the girls sitting in silence trying to recover their breaths. Elphaba was the first to talk again.

"You're plan doesn't seem to have worked, the door is still locked."

Glinda half-laughed in an exhale, eyes never leaving the beautiful brown orbs before them. "Hah, forget the plan. The plan was stupid," the blonde's voice huskier than Elphaba had ever heard it as she leaned further down, breath playing across a green ear, "maybe they just haven't seen enough yet."

-:-:-

It was well into the night before someone found the pair in the store-room. The pair had both been too busy to talk about what had happened. Elphaba had immediately roared something about going to visit some graves before grabbing the violin case she kept behind the bar and vanishing. Glinda had been ushered off to the stage, her disappearance having been the only reason anyone had bothered to go searching for the pair in the first place.

The next day Fiyero and Avaric spent cleaning up the back storeroom, with Elphaba standing over them the entire time. In the end she'd allowed the pair to get off with only the cleaning. Neither knew why she was being so gracious, but they took what they could and didn't show up for drinks for nearly a week after the incident. For all their trouble, they still hadn't seen anything interesting.

-:-:-

1 – Rummy: a drunken bum  
2 – Piker: a coward

**A/N**: I've not much to say for this chapter actually, just that I hope you all enjoyed it? I'm actually really worried about the ending since I've never written anything similar to that before. It's a first folks! I hope I didn't screw it up.


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